Musical theatre personal statement

For as long as I can remember I have had a very deep passion for Musical Theatre. A passion that was accompanied by a burning ambition to succeed, and even as a small child that ambition was enough to make any sacrifices that were necessary to ensure I would always perform at my best, and since I was about ten years old, small things such as not eating chocolate before a performance, wearing a distasteful, but very warm coat and scarf to prevent catching a cold, and just always taking care of my body and my voice, even if it does mean missing that party that “everyone is going to” and instead holding my head over a bowl of hot water, and inhaling the steam for fifteen minutes! No sacrifice has or will ever be too much. Because I get my joy out of striving to be the best that I can be, and I get my fun from succeeding in something that was difficult and knowing I had to work hard to do it.
I have always taken part in as many performances as I can, because I believe that it's always good to gain experience, and I also find I can learn so much from watching others perform. I am a member of the ___ Youth Theatre, and on my first course we did a play called “Widows” by “Arial Dorfman” I was playing a small part so spent a lot of my time sitting at the side, and while I was there I learnt a very valuable lesson, that watching others being directed and performing, can be as helpful if not more helpful than actually being up there yourself. I was amazed at how much I learned about acting from that course, one of my faults in my acting was I tended to “over act” but its was during this play I began to realise that sometimes less really is more when you are trying to deliver emotion though acting. This is also something I was to discover in singing one year later at____College while I was doing my B-Tec in Performing Arts.

I have been classically trained in singing since I was eleven, and have always adored beautiful melodic and lyrical sounds, so I would really sing each phrase of the Music, but whilst being at college I learnt how to control those sounds and not to “over sing” as many modern pieces of musical theatre such as work by “Stephen Flaherty” and “Jason Robert Brown” ask for much more genuine and intricate sounds, I learnt that some lines need to be almost spoken in a very natural way, to actually become a more believable character. I found it was a challenge for me, because it was a total change from what I was used to, I was worried about people thinking I wasn't a very good singer, it just took practise and a lot of trust in my singing tutor and of course my peers. And I was able to put it into place when I played _____ in lucky Stiff by Stephen Flaherty. In our final major project in year one.

I believe its very important to build a strong working relationship with your lectures because when you are learning new ways to perform it is so important that you learn to trust them, and you can then believe in what they are telling you, as new things often feel strange and unfamiliar. I also feel it is extremely important to have a close bond with the peers your working with, this is because most of the time musical theatre is not about individuals it is about the team work, and whenever I have been in a musical or a play the most successful times were when we had a strong team.
There really is nothing more powerful than stepping onto a stage ready to perform when you know you have a whole cast around you, who are supporting you one hundred percent, and you know your supporting them one hundred percent, It can feel so invigorating. There are of course times when the teams are not successful and it is so important that you work hard to combat this, I find something that has helped me is playing drama improvisation games, some that focus on integration and some that focus on trust, going back to the simple ways of childhood came sometimes overcome the most complex adult relationship problems.

I auditioned for your School of Musical Theatre last year at ____ College, and I was absolutely delighted to get through to the re-call stage, however due to circumstances at home I was unable to attend last year, I was naturally extremely disappointed, however I decided to make the most of my “gap year” and do something completely different. I wanted to gain some life experience, as I have never travelled or even lived away from home, and felt perhaps doing something like that would help me mature and would be a great base to hopefully study with you this year. So I did some research and noticed that British Airways were recruiting for cabin crew and within two months of my interview I was on my way to my new flat in Crawley, ready to take on an exciting and challenging career. After my six weeks training I was ready to fly! I have had so many wonderful experiences and feel truly lucky to have tried something so exciting in my life, however it is not where my heart lies, and I am desperate to take what I love doing more than anything in the world. Performing.

Your Musical Theatre course really stood out to me cause of its practical nature and of course your impressive reputation, but also because I feel being part of the GSA Conservatoire is something I have always wanted and something to be extremely proud of. I feel I am suited to the course because I am very egger to learn and more than anything I enjoy a challenge and will always do my best to succeed. I also believe that criticism is one of the key ingredients to improving, and so im always keen to hear any advise that I can learn from.

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This personal statement was written by emz_8 for application in 2008.

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Comments

i think you sound really

Wed, 20/02/2008 - 14:06

i think you sound really dedicated! good luck! and the cabin crew thing sounds impressive. it is abit long though, but still not boring to read. well done!

Did you ever get anywhere? i

Tue, 14/12/2010 - 10:39

Did you ever get anywhere? i think its not veey good in getting a positive view of yourself across rather than a pretentious one.

:D

Wed, 26/10/2011 - 00:31

Loved this statement.
Too many statements plod on and on about academic awards and grades and groups, but not once have I found a statement that, like yours, actually goes on to explain the relevance and challenges in any of these things!
Gold star for you my friend, and good luck ^_^